I heard the creaking of the door, and my mind immediately went to the returning guard. A raised head brought a surprise-my guest was not a guard but a woman.
Neither young nor old, time had marked her features but softened them with a gentleness that did not fit this dark dungeon. Her hair was streaked with silver where it flowed from a loose binding behind her head, and though she wore simple, nondescript clothes, they were clean and neat. She stepped inside the cell and shut the door softly behind her. Something flickered in her eyes-compassion, or maybe even pity.
"I have been in this palace a long time," she whispered, her voice low as she knelt beside me. "I have seen many women pass through here. And none leave unchanged."
A cold shiver ran down my spine as I was wary-who was this woman, and why was she here? My mind was in a whirl, and I backed against the cold stone wall, my body still smarting after the ordeal meted earlier. Yet, I did not really trust her; there was just something in her eyes that caught my attention. She wasn't here to hurt me. At least, not directly.
Who are you?" I croaked; my throat was dry from not having spoken for hours.
The woman glanced over her shoulder as if checking we were well and truly alone before speaking again. "My name is of little consequence," she whispered. "What is important is I have seen what he does to women like you.
She leaned into me, grasping my arm with a surprisingly firm touch, as if to anchor me into the present. "King Tristan…," she said, her voice spitting the name out as if it was a bad taste on her tongue, "…uses women to satisfy his whims. He may have lied to you about the reason behind your presence here, but the truth is so much darker. He doesn't need you for any great purpose, Lucy. He needs you because you are a new conquest-nothing more. You're here because he cannot have an heir of his own."
I blinked; my mind grappled with what she was telling me. "He… can't have an heir?"
She shook her head grimly. "No. Cursed long ago, he was, by reason of the way he treats women-as chattel, as pawns in his cruel games. The curse took from him all issue. He has no heir, and he never shall."
My stomach twisted, and my bile rose in my throat. "Then why does he…?
He's a monster," she frankly admitted. Anger strained her voice. "He has an obsession for power and authority. He forces women into his bed, and if they resist, will gravely punish them." Then she looked at me; her eyes softened again. "I have seen this time and again. He will force you if you allow him.
I stared at her in horror, my chest constricting with panic. This wasn't some sort of sadistic power struggle that I had imagined it to be-which was much worse. My heart raced now as my mind ran, frantically seeking a way out. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't let that happen to me.
"I need to get out of here," I whispered, shaking.
She nodded, her face set in a resolute expression. "There is a way. But it's dangerous."
I didn't care. Whatever risks existed outside these walls, I would far rather take than stay here and suffer at King Tristan's hands. "Tell me.".
She turned back to the door again; her movements quick, fidgety. "In a few minutes, the guards change shifts. If you time it just right, you can slip out through the dungeons, but you'll have to be fast. There's an exit near the east wing of the palace that goes out into the forest. If you reach it, you can get away. But you have to go now, or it will be too late.
I sprang to my feet sans another word-my body shrieking in protest as I leveraged myself up. She looked at me with a face taut with fear, but she gave a firm nod. "Go. Now."
I hesitated for only a moment, holding her gaze. "Why are you helping me?"
Her eyes flickered with a sadness I couldn't understand. "Because no one helped me.
It was words with the impact of a blow, but neither was there any more time for questioning. I nodded toward the door and with my heart pounding hard against ribs slipped out into the corridor. There was the soft echo of footsteps; otherwise, the dungeon was silent.
I reached the far end of the hall where she had said, and saw up one step the little arch which gave on to the outer air. It was so near one might almost smell freedom. I sprang into a run, catching my breath in my throat, my eyes fixed upon the narrow door which let out into the forest beyond.
But just like that, a cold, familiar voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
"I knew you'd try this."
My blood ran cold as I froze. Slowly, I turned around to find myself face to face with King Tristan. Amusement gleamed in his golden eyes, a cruel smile that curled his lips. He was planted between me and the doorway, blocking my only route to freedom.
"I have been watching you, Lucy," he said, his voice as smooth as silk, threatening. "Did you really think you could get away from me?
The next thing that happened was guards behind him, charging for my arms and clasping them in a tight painful vice that showed not an iota of forgiveness. I fought uselessly, trying to get away from them; hence, they dragged me back in the direction of the palace. With every step taken, I felt my heart drop in literal terms.
I was dragged through great halls of the palace-the richness of it so obviously a mockery to my helpless state. They dragged me to the entrance into King Tristan's chambers.
The giant doors opened onto a huge bedroom, centrepiece a bed in black velvet. King Tristan waved his hand in dismissal at the guards.
"You're going to learn your place, Lucy," he said low and dangerous as he started to walk toward me. "You belong to me now."
He reached out, and his hand brushed my arm, but something inside me just snapped. A wave of heat ran through my body, and before I could even realize what was happening, a blinding light exploded from my hands and sent King Tristan across the room.
He slammed into the wall, staring at me in wide-eyed shock, his lips parted in a surprise. For the very first time since I'd met him, he looked vulnerable-afraid.
It was hard of breathing, my hands shaking, staring at him in some disbelief. What had I just done?
King Tristan got to his feet with deliberated slowness, his face changing from incredulity to a lot more sinister. Again, his eyes shone with intrigue; his lips curving with a slow predator smile.
"Well, well," he said, the tone dripping with dark humor. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
I took another step back as my heart deepened its beats in my chest, and fear mixed with adrenaline swirled inside of me. Whatever power I had just unleashed, things had only gotten worse.
Because now, King Tristan's interest in me had grown. And I had no idea how to stop him.